"KILL THEM ALL!" A voice roared from the bandit line. "Take the wagons!"
The bandits charged.
The remaining rcenary took one look at the approaching horde, more than a dozen ard killers erging from the treeline.
Then turned and bolted into the darkness without looking back.
"Co back here, you coward!" the rchant scread after him. "We paid you to—"
"You didn’t pay enough for this!" The rcenary’s voice faded into the forest. Then gone.
The rchant’s wife clutched their daughter, maybe eight years old, eyes wide with terror, and pulled her close. Shielding her with her own body. The girl buried her face against her mother’s chest, trembling.
The rchant stood in front of them. Pulled a knife from his belt, small thing, ant for cutting rope and opening crates, not fighting.
But he held it with shaking hands anyway. Ready to die protecting his family if necessary.
Alaric sighed and drew Nightfire.
The blade sang as it left its scabbard.
Dark tal catching firelight. The dual essence resonance humming through the handle into his palm.
"Let’s see what you’ve got," he muttered and then channeled essence into the blade.
The lead bandit, massive man with crude axe and scarred face laughed. "Where you looking, kid? You think you’re gonna—"
Before he could complete his words...
SHHK!
His head got separated from shoulders.
A clean cut. So clean there was a half-second delay before blood started spraying. The body took two more stumbling steps forward before collapsing.
The head hit the ground and rolled.
But Alaric was already moving. Spinning past the falling corpse toward two more bandits charging from his right.
They ca in together, coordinated. One high, one low. Trying to overwhelm with simultaneous attacks from different angles.
Alaric ducked under the high swing. His blade ca up and across in rising slash that caught the low attacker’s arm at the elbow.
SHHK!
The limb separated. Flew spinning through the air and bandit scread.
Alaric reversed his grip. Brought the blade back down and across, catching the second bandit’s leg just below the knee.
SHHK!
Another limb. Another scream. Both bandits collapsed, one clutching the stump where his arm had been, the other desperately trying to stop the arterial spray from his severed leg.
Nightfire’s dark tal had turned deeper red. Shadows swirled along its length like living things, drinking in the spilled blood, the released essence, the death.
The rchant stared. Eyes wide as dinner plates. Mouth hanging open.
The remaining bandits froze. Eleven of them. Standing in loose formation. Staring at the boy who’d just killed three of their number in maybe five seconds.
"What the fuck!" one of them whispered.
Then the bandit leader, different from the first, this one wearing actual armor and carrying a proper sword, roared.
"He’s just ONE! RUSH HIM!"
They charged. All eleven simultaneously.
Alaric activated his scan vision.
[Bandit Leader - Rank: B-]
[Bandit Archer - Rank: C ]
[Bandit Warrior - Rank: C ]
[Bandit Thug - Rank: C]
[Bandit Scout - Rank: C]
[Bandit Thug - Rank: D ]
[Bandit Thug - Rank: D ]
[...]
The B-rank leader. Two at C . Two at C. The rest scattered between D and low D.
The leader will be a problem.
No ti to strategize further. They were on him.
Alaric threw himself forward.
[Burst Step!]
He crashed into their formation before they could adjust to his charge.
[Fla Blade!]
His sword carved through the nearest D-rank’s throat. The man gargled. Fell.
[Fireball!]
He threw it at another D-rank’s face. The concentrated sphere of fla detonated on impact. Skull cracked.
And body dropped.
But the C-rank warrior was there, blade coming in fast.
Their blades t with a clang that sent vibrations up Alaric’s arm. He twisted. Redirected. Used the montum to flow into next movent.
The C archer had positioned herself.
Whiiish!
Arrow ca fast. Alaric barely twisted aside. It grazed his shoulder, tearing cloth, drawing blood, but not penetrating deeply.
She’s good.
[Shadow Step!]
He flickered. Disappeared from the warrior’s striking range and reappeared behind the archer. His blade descended.
But—
She rolled and ca up with dagger drawn, slashing at his exposed side.
The blade caught him into his ribs.
Alaric hissed. Brought his elbow back into her face.
CRACK!
She stumbled, gripping her broken nose.
But Alaric didn’t give her ti to recover, he spun and slashed Nightfire at torso.
She fell.
But the C warrior and C-rank scout were on him. Two-on-one. Both skilled enough to coordinate. To cover each other’s openings.
This is going to hurt.
The warrior’s blade ca high. Alaric parried. The scout’s knife ca low, aiming for kidney. Alaric twisted. The knife scored across his side instead of penetrating.
[Fla Arrow!]
He fired the technique one-handed while still holding off the warrior and it struck the scout center-mass.
The man scread. Fell backward clutching his burning chest.
But the warrior capitalized, blade coming in at Alaric’s exposed guard. Too fast to dodge completely.
SLASH!
The cut opened his shoulder. Deeper this ti. Alaric’s arm went partially numb.
He snarled.
Switched blade to his other hand mid-combat.
[Wind Blade!]
His free hand gestured. Compressed air-essence manifested and shot forward like invisible guillotine.
The warrior saw it coming. Tried to dodge—
But he wasn’t fast enough.
SHHK!
The Wind Blade caught him across the stomach. Not deep enough to bisect. But deep enough to spill intestines. He collapsed screaming.
Alaric was breathing now. Bleeding from shoulder, side, and ribs. Fighting multiple C ranks simultaneously was draining.
Five D-ranks rushed him. Trying to overwhelm with numbers while he was injured.
[Fla Sphere!]
Fire erupted from his core and expanded. All five D-ranks caught in the radius and burned.
Screaming. Flesh blistering.
Then they fell back.
But... before he could catch a breath.
"Earth Stone."
The ground beneath Alaric’s feet suddenly surged upward. Stone spike erupting from below, aiming directly for his gut.
Alaric threw himself sideways. The spike grazed his side. Tore through clothing and flesh.
Another wound.
He hit the ground, rolled and ca up bleeding, gasping.
The bandit leader stood twenty feet away.
"Not bad, kid," the leader said. "But you’re out of your depth."
He charged.
Fast.
His blade ca in high then twisted low, feint into real attack.
Alaric parried desperately. The impact jarred his shoulder wound. Blood flowed faster.
The leader pressed. Strike after strike. Each one pushing Alaric backward. Each one finding gaps in his defense because he was tired and hurt and fighting above his rank.
Can’t win straight fight.
[Shadow Step!]
He reappear behind the leader with blade already descending—
The leader spun. Predicted it. His sword ca up and blocked. Then his boot ca up and kicked Alaric in the chest.
Alaric flew backward. Hit a tree hard.
Air left his lungs, his vision swam.
The leader advanced. Sword raised. "You fought well. But—"
Alaric hand shot forward and...
[Fireball!]
He didn’t shot at the leader. But at the ground between them.
The explosion threw dirt and debris into the leader’s face. Blinded him for crucial second.
Alaric surged forward through the smoke. Nightfire blazing with combined fire and shadow. All his remaining essence channeled into single strike.
The leader recovered. Saw him coming. Started to block—
[Burst Step!]
But the mid-charge acceleration gave him an edge.
Bandit leader’s eyes widened as the blade slipped past his guard—
SHHK!
Through the gap in his armor. Into his heart.
The leader’s eyes went wide. Blood bubbled from his lips.
"How—"
Alaric twisted the blade. "You talk too much."
And then he pulled Nightfire free.
The leader collapsed.
Silence fell over the camp.
Alaric stood in the center of carnage. Surrounded by bodies. Bleeding from multiple wounds. Breathing hard. The rchant stared at him with expression mixing terror and awe.
"You... you saved—" The words ca out broken.
Alaric looked at him. Then at the wife and daughter still huddled together.
He nodded once. "You’re welco."
Then his legs gave out and he sat down heavily on one of the wooden logs.
"Now," he said, still breathing hard. "About those directions to the nearest town..."
User Comments
0 comments from readers